Through Thy Wordless Love
by whysosiriusumbridge
Summary: I had discovered that James Potter and Sirius Black were a bit of bullies. And I did not do good in dealing with people with egos the size of the Black Lake. Living with Norse Gods would do that to you. Or maybe, sharing a dorm with Lily Evans did that to you. Marauder Era- A niece of the God of Mischief thrown into the time of the First War, will the world survive?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Loki Odinson had never understood the importance of patience. It left a bitter taste in his mouth, that word- _patience. _But after so many years of being taught the meaning by different individuals, he was finally coming to understand it because of this little Midgardian tradition. He had always enjoyed this part of the process- when he went to fetch his trainees. The parents were usually terrified of him, and refused to believe in his existence, which never failed to amuse him. The last four- five times, he had always introduced himself at the time of their birth, took them off exactly on their first birthday. They had always grown up in an environment concomitant of Midgard and Asgard and he had always started his work right after one year of their birth was over. This particular time, however, he had followed Heimdal's advice, just this once, (lest the bastard be smug, as if he already wasn't) to see how it would differ. It was her 9th birthday today, and he hoped that the fools had not organised that pathetic excuse of a _celebration_ that they usually did, (with _balloons_, _cakes_ and _kids_, oh so many kids, the _horror_) and then he had to wipe the memories of that many more people. That, and he hated celebrations in general, mainly because they were mostly to celebrate some ineffectual battle his buffoon of a brother had won. Anyway, it had required patience this time around to be 9 years late, yes, but _was_ the fruit going to be as sweet? He found himself grinning apprehensively at the thought.

He looked at the Midgardian house that held the humans he needed to confer with. It was simple, but it held a twist of elegance in it. It was white, like most in the street, but not small. It was huge, but only as compared to those on the street; it was, obviously, nothing against the beauty of those in Asgard. He walked to the front lawn, and up the two steps that led to a small white door, then pressed the small white square apprehensively. He felt a thrill of nervous anticipation course through him, wondering what would become of this meeting.

* * *

><p>He had made sure to transfigure his clothes according to the latest trends on Midgard, at least, as much as his dignity had allowed. So why was the foolish man staring at him like he was out of his wits end? It was slowly driving him towards irritation. Yes, he was presenting a theory that sounded insane but he had never had anyone look at him in <em>that<em> insulting a way.

Seeing the disbelieving expression of the thin man not fading away, he turned his attention to the wife. She was a woman of history, she _must_ have read something about this somewhere. (Plus, he had noticed it as somewhat of a tradition in the Odinson family- all the previous ones, that the woman of the house was more in command of such situations)

"Miss Katerina, you are a scholar of the ancient history of your planet. I highly doubt that you did not come across the mention of this 'tradition' in at least one of the old texts preserved in the Odinson library?"

The fair haired woman had remained stoic through all his speech, her face betraying no hint of emotion ever since he had started explaining in detail how every seventh generation of the Odinson family was born with the power of magic. The unique magic which was a mix of both Asgardian and Midgardian magic. How he came for their training every time, and took them away, then trained them in the art of magic properly, and finally leaving them in the company of the Midgardian magic users, to befriend them, form alliances with them and help them to keep control of the balance and doings of the small community. It was more of a task to keep themselves informed of the ongoings among the magical society. But it was a task nonetheless, one he was intent on completing properly.

The woman breathed in deeply once, before letting out her breath slowly. "Yes, I have."

The flat tone she said the few words in, made it clear that she was not too happy about it. Her clear voice rang in the silence that followed, creating a palable tension in the room. Her husband was now giving her the look he had been giving him previously. She avoided his eyes easily, looking straight ahead at himself.

"So you must know that it is the truth?" he said, with the slightest hint of a smirk.

He knew he was pushing it just a little, but he couldn't help it. He liked making people uncomfortable. The woman's eyebrow twitched and she jutted out her chin by a very minute inch- "Prove it."

It was almost too easy after that. He carefully took note of her expression as he changed his appearance back to his normal robes, and resisted the urge to grin satisfactorily as her eyes widened in response.

The rest of the conversation was made directly with Miss Katerina, as she enquired about the meaning of the unnatural incidents that had surrounded her daughter from a very young age. And then, finally, he had met _her_.

She was playing silently in the backyard, by a small pond. She straightened immediately on seeing them, her eyes alert- oh those _eyes_.

She was beautiful, just like the others had been, but in a very different, human, innocent and _fragile_ way. It was a result of the years spent at Midgard surely. He had been contemplating the effects of his late arrival, it's consequences, and this was surely one of them- among others like having the basic knowledge of the language prevalent in the area, a basic understanding of logic, of how things worked in the day to day life of humans. (Truthfully, the pros of this situation were more than he had cared to think but he was actively discovering that this was a much beneficial arrangement, but he wasn't going to tell that to Heimdal) She still possessed the naivety of a young girl, not having grown into puberty yet. And still, she was most beautiful. Tall for her age, he could already see that she would grow up into a very attractive young woman. Her eyes were green, deep forest green, and they held the same kind of intensity, the mystery, the power in them, that he usually saw in his own. Her hair was black, wavy, and ended near her knees. They were as dark as his own, he noticed with joy.

This was better than he had expected. His grin grew larger as he walked closer to her, noticing her rigid posture on seeing a possible threat. She was going to be _very_ easy to train.

"This is my daughter, Evelyn Odinson."

She looked warily at her mother, as if expecting a reprimand of some sort from her, but when none came, she seemed to relax the tiniest bit and then turned towards the dark-haired God with eyes full of suspicion.

"Evelyn, I am you Uncle, Loki Odinson of Asgard."

He felt himself bowing slightly and then took her hand in his, kissing it lightly. He watched with surprise, as she bowed slightly too, without hesitation.

"Hello, Uncle Loki."

Her voice was sweet, laced with the politeness, and her eyes were alight with burning curiosity. He hadn't changed his clothes back after all. He felt himself smirking unwillingly at the smallest, ridiculous quality of the willingness to _impress_ that she already had.

He watched her carefully for a few minutes as she was sent away by her mother to play by the swings. He noticed her each and every movement in silence, and how she seemed distracted by their presence, but did not dare defy her mother's orders.

Katerina Odinson broke the silence by asking how long this training would last and how he would go about doing this. He told her to "just watch" as he walked over to the little black-haired girl and stretched his hand for her to shake. He smirked like a shark at the mother as she grasped his hand, and he _deliberately_ began to slowly disappear like a mirage, watching with satisfaction as the mother's face turned from confused to shocked and then panicked.

Because let's face it- he wasn't blind. In fact, he considered himself to be rather clever, so he had obviously noticed the lack of celebration (as much as he hated it) on the girl's 9th birthday, the dejected way she had sat by the water before she had noticed them. He hadn't missed the apprehension in her eyes as she had gazed upon her mother and neither had he missed her slight winces of pain as she had climbed the swing. It was too obvious- his precious niece had been _abused_ in this household, most probably because of the incidents of accidental magic Katerina Odinson had seeked explanation for. The way the woman spoke of them, as if it was something alien, and not at all acceptable, and the way the man, the husband had reacted to his information, was proof enough that these people were not adjusting when it came to the extraordinary. Because of that, Katerina Odinson and her family _deserved_ to suffer at least a few months before knowing that their daughter was safe, if they even worried, that is. The second reason he had used this underhand trick was that he needed to prove – that he was, after all, the God of Mischief. And _no one_, hurt those under his care. _His_ family.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Uncle Loki dropped me at the gates of King's Cross station, trusting me enough to find my own way through the crowded station. I pecked him on the cheek one last time, knowing that it would be his last day on my planet. He was going to go back to Asgard this evening, after settling affairs with my landlord and things at Gringotts regarding my fees. I had asked him to meet Dumbledore as well, but I knew he was going to avoid- he had been clear that his only motive for the prolonged stay had been to see me off to Hogwarts, finally.

"Will you be coming to visit me?" I asked, grabbing my wand from the dashboard and sticking it in my pocket; I wouldn't need to expand my luggage until I was on the train itself.

"No, I don't think so, the instructions are very clear- I cannot come back unless you need my help, sincerely and ask Heimdall precisely to send me. Or if your life is in danger, then I shall be immediately informed." he said, smiling a swift smile, patting my head lightly. It was one of the only contacts I'd seen him make- either he patted me on the head or touched my cheek- and that was only when he was being _very_ emotional. I rolled my eyes, making my displeasure blatantly obvious.

"Please, do good at your school," he begun, and I grinned, noticing the mirth shining in his eyes, "Try to get good grades and please, I mean it, do not stay out of trouble. Make me proud and live up to the name of the Odinson family. Not your's, _ours_." he added with a wink, before ushering me out of the car.

I jumped and hugged him one last time, and he patted my head again with a hint of a smile, before turning serious. His eyes were suddenly focusing on my face, and I knew at once that he was concerned. "Take care of yourself." he breathed softly, and caressed my cheeks, probably for the last time. I felt tears prickling the corner of my eyes- I would _not_ cry. Yes, I wouldn't be able to see him or Uncle Thor, or anyone at Asgard for at least three years now, but I had to hold up. I would have practically no one to turn to if things didn't turn out good at Hogwarts. What if I was horrible at Midgardian magic? What if I managed to make no friends?

What if someone _found out_?

I wanted to hug him tightly and bury my head in his shoulder and never let go, but that would mean running away. Yes, a whole new school without any friends was terrifying but I would never quit.

_Running away is never the solution._

So I pushed back the anxiety, fear and utter _terror_ I felt, to hug him one last time, smile brightly and assure him that I would wreak as much havoc at Hogwarts as much possible. I turned and practically tripped ran over a lady in the haste to get inside quickly- I would not watch him leave, I _could_ not.

I took out the ticket that I received with my second acceptance letter, and scanned the sheaf of paper until my eyes found the Platform number.

Wow, I was right. Not only were British wizards idiots for making one of the busiest places in London as their passage point, but they were absolutely barmy. Platform Nine and three quarters? Seriously? And I'd thought they had a Ministry of Magic.

Now how the hell was I supposed to find a wizard among this crowd of people?

I opted out of asking the gaurd- only first years would make that mistake. Instead, I decided to lean by platform ten and watched everyone closely, alert for any weird looking bloke or girl.

Thankfully, a well- built boy with a trunk passed me, heading towards Platform nine, and I quickly tapped him on the shoulder. Wow, he had some muscles.

"Hi. How can I help you?" he said, giving me the once over. I was wearing a Rolling Stones t-shirt with a black jacket and jeans and realized that I must have looked like any normal muggle.

"Hi, I was wondering how to get on the platform for Hogwarts?" I said, appraising his appearance- he had dark brown hair and chocolate brown eyes, a few scars ran along his face and hands but he was wearing school robes and there was a prefect badge shining on his chest.

"You're the new student?" he said, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

"Yes..." I prolonged my answer, wondering what was so surprising, and raised an eyebrow at his expression.

"You do know that we have to bring a trunk along with us?"

I snorted at his question. "Yes, I do know that, but I prefer to take the help of magic whenever I can, since I _am_ gifted with it." I said, fishing out my shrunk trunk from the depths of my jacket and showing the miniature thing to him.

He looked stumped for a moment, "How did we ever not think of that?"

"Modern education has a way of messing with people's common sense." I replied cryptically, but his expression cleared and he countered back immediately, "No, we're not supposed to use magic outside of school."

_Oops_. I had used wandless magic, of course, and wracked my brains to cover for the slip.

"Well, I had my Uncle do it for me when he dropped me here." I smiled, "And it's the thought that counts, right?"

"I suppose," he said, still looking at me suspiciously, "Come on then."

I followed him as he walked towards the barrier between Platforms nine and ten and paused right next to it. "You have to run towards the barrier and it will open for you when you reach it. Our Platform is on the other side."

A few moments of silence passed and when he didn't say anything more, I let out an incredulous laugh, looking at him with wide eyes, "You're joking."

"No, seriously. It is through that barrier." he said, laughing himself now.

"Show me your ticket." I said suspiciously, deciding to make sure that he was, in fact, a student.

He stopped laughing abruptly and looked at me confusedly. "But it's probably in the depths of my trunk right now. We never use it except for the first time."

"Are you.. Do British wizards have no sense of self-preservation?" I said, appalled at the methods they adopted. Who ran headfirst into a barrier to get to school? "This way, anyone can get onto your platform and if someone doesn't have the ticket and it's an emergency, you're doomed!"

The boy -whose name I had still not asked- looked at me with something akin to appreciation but I was too busy to get flustered. "You know, I have a theory, but I never got a chance to check it. I guess you wouldn't mind if a ran a check now?"

I shrugged, curious to understand how this barrier system worked. "Run me by your theory then."

"Well, I think that the ticket is necessary only for the first time you enter the Platform. After that, the barrier, sort of, records the magical signature of the being and then recognizes them the next time try to enter. Which would explain why the tickets are needed just one time."

I hummed in response. "But, hey, what if the ticket is required each time you enter? Only you don't consciously recognize it because it's already there in your luggage? But the barrier can recognize the spell being there, so it allows entry."

He contemplated for a moment before nodding slowly, "You know, that does make sense. I really do want to check this theory. Okay, give me your ticket and try to put your hand into the barrier."

I handed him my ticket and did as he had said, only my hand stopped and I met solid stone.

He hummed again and gave me back my ticket. Then he proceeded to put his hand against the barrier and it passed right through! I could only see him upto his wrist and squinted closely at his arm.

He pursed his lips as he thought. "This could easily be because this is your first time. I can't get out the ticket right now, it would mean emptying my whole trunk."

"That's fine. Give me mine, I hope I can get in this time first."

I took my ticket and immediately pressed my hand against the barrier wall, meeting thin air this time, and my hand passed through. I grinned at the boy next to me and then quickly stepped inside the barrier, landing onto what I presumed was the Hogwarts Platform.

As it turned out, it was. I was immediately followed by the boy, as I took a full minute to soak up the beauty of the scene in front of me.

A scarlet and black engine stood on the platform, emitting thick white smoke and I wondered belatedly why no one had lung problems after standing in this for five minutes. There were sounds of the engine whistling every minute, children shouting goodbye or girls shrieking happily to each other, parents hugging little kids, probably for their first year and a colorful blend of animals like cats, owls and a toad or two hooting, croaking and mewing from among people's legs.

"We still haven't introduced, you know, and we might be possible research partners on the magic of the Platform barrier." I said offhandedly, as the boy joined me on the side, observing the on goings around us.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot. Remus Lupin, I'm in fifth year, Gryffindor and I'm a prefect." he said, holding out his hand to shake. I shook his hand gingerly, feeling his calloused skin and noticing the thin scars more closely. In fact, there seemed to bags under his eyes too and he looked tired.

"Evelyn Odinson. How did you know I was the new student?" I followed him as he pushed his trunk towards the train at a slow pace. "Hold on, _Locomotor Mortis._" I waved my wand at his trunk and it floated slightly above the ground in front of us. Common sense really did seem to surpass him. Plus, I was slightly afraid he would pass out from the effort or something.

"Thanks," he grinned at me, all perfect white teeth and resumed his walk, "Dumbledore wrote to me and Lily- she's the other prefect, about you being sorted into Gryffindor since he wanted us to make sure you arrived properly. Good thing you ran into me."

I smiled at him as we climbed the train and he seemed to be looking for a particular compartment- probably his friends. "Which compartment should I be looking out for?" I asked, thinking I should help. Remus was a kind enough boy and I hoped his friends were similar, though I couldn't help but raise a quizzical eyebrow at his response- "Whichever makes the loudest noise." he shrugged.

Grimacing at the thought, I kept following him until he stopped outside a door, from behind which, I could hear loud voices of laughter and maybe someone shouting.

Without bothering to knock, Remus slid open the door with a loud screech and I had a glimpse of a red-headed girl and a dark haired boy, with his back to the door, before Remus' broad body was covering the entrance. He had a few inches on me easily and I was effectively blocked from view as he was greeted with loud cheers and sighs of relief.

"Remus, thank Merlin you're here. Now, I'll be really grateful if you get this filth out of my compartment so that I can breathe without getting Potter germs on me." A girl's voice voice said, and Remus moved inside the compartment, me following, shutting the door.

There was collective silence as I regarded the people inside the compartment. "You must be Evelyn," the red head said almost immediately, smiling broadly and shaking my hand. "I'm Lily Evans."

"Oh, so you are Evelyn!" a black haired boy standing beside Lily said, extending his hand- "I'm James Potter."

I smiled nervously at him, shaking his hand, as the two girls sitting beside the windows introduced themselves as Alice Prewett and Mary MacDonald with cheery waves. Two more boys were sitting alongside them- _wasn't this compartment for six?_- and another black haired one stood up with a flourish.

"Sirius Black, at your service." he said charmingly, taking my hand and bringing it to his lips. My eyes widened in realization and I snatched my hand away quickly, before he could kiss it. It was a rude gesture but I was not comfortable with touching.

His eyebrows rose dangerously high and I blushed shamefully, muttering a slow "Hi." I managed to tear my eyes from his grey ones, they were beautiful and very pretty and _insulted._

"Stop it, Sirius." Remus said warningly, and Sirius Black looked at Remus innocently. "What? I was just welcoming her." he said, though his tone made it clear that he was attempting something more than welcome. I frowned and the others laughed loudly, the boy called James clapping Sirius on the back, grinning at his insult, like a friend would.

"Don't worry Evy, that git is always like that. You come here, we'll keep you safe from him." Mary said, getting up and pulling me towards her on the seat, mock glaring at Sirius.

"Alright, alright, I won't make any advances at her, yet." he winked at Mary and she huffed, rolling her eyes as the fourth, mousy haired boy introduced himself as Peter Pettigrew.

"I am right here." I said with as much emphasis as I could, but only Alice grinned apologetically, as the others' attention was diverted to an argument that had sprung up between Lily and James.

Lily seemed to be intent on kicking out the boys, while James seemed to be intent on staying. Remus was the referee, as he seemed to be the only one who could convince James to leave.

Thankfully, after one glare from Remus, James seemed to subside and agreed and the boys left, Sirius bidding goodbye to Mary in particular who seemed to be annoyed at him. Peter trailed behind quietly, and Remus was the last to leave.

He looked outside and I noticed that the train had started moving already. "Ah, well. Evelyn, we'll continue that experiment of ours at the end of term, okay?"

"Of course," I grinned widely at him, and he made to move outside, when Lily stopped him.

"Oi! Make sure to be back soon, we have prefect rounds to do."

"Of course, see you at the feast girls." Remus said, waved and shut the door.

Lily settled down beside Alice and scrutinized me with her bright green eyes. They were quite remarkable and I wondered if I would ever get a chance to look closely. I had always been fascinated by eyes, they were the most beautiful part of a person and a window to the soul, if one looked closely enough.

"You're not uncomfortable, are you?" she said nervously. I almost laughed, she was behaving as she was the new one here, not me. "No, Lily, I'm fine."

"So why are you starting so late?" Mary asked, and I shifted uncomfortably, but decided to give her a brief account of my training, mentioning that an Uncle had decided to home school me. I refused to talk about my family, and after skirting around the topic for a few minutes, I made clear that it was tabooed. They got the hint and the conversation passed on to Hogwarts- I listened intently as they recounted stories of the boys' antics, Lily with disgust and Mary with laughter, not losing any opportunity to defend the boys' pranks as 'harmless' and 'just a little bit of fun'. Lily, on the other hand, seemed to be completely against rule- breaking and disapproved of their ideas.

Alice saved the day by turning the conversation towards other things- tonight's feast for example, and explained the various subjects, suggesting me about staying out of which teacher's way. Then they discussed about the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher; it seemed that the post was believed to be jinxed and no teacher lasted more than one year. At about one o' clock, after Lily had returned from prefect duties, a witch with a trolley knocked on the door and I was invited to buy anything I wanted. I fished out money eagerly and brought stacks of the things the girls suggested, and enough chocolate to last me almost a year. If there was good food at Hogwarts, and a supply of good chocolate, I was sure the year was going to be spent in ecstasy.

As we settled down, Alice opened a pack of Chocolate Frogs and I froze as she tore open a piece and bit the head off of a frog, which had been struggling in her hold.

I heaved silently and almost gagged at the display, catching the girls' attention.

"What the fuck did you just do to that?" I waved towards Alice and she looked confusedly at the thing in her hand. "Sorry?"

"Are you supposed to eat chocolate frogs like that?" I asked incredulously, and Lily laughed, understanding my predicament.

"Evy, they're not real frogs! They've just been charmed to look like they're alive."

"But why would you do that?! Who wants to feel like they're eating a live frog?"

There was confused silence for a moment before Mary started laughing, and Alice joined her. I laughed a bit too, but I was still slightly nauseated. "You are right, you know." Lily agreed after a while, when we had stopped laughing. "I was eleven when we were introduced to all this, so we never really looked at the technical side, or rather, practical side. But now I think about it that way..." she shivered disgustedly.

"Well, you can continue that but I am never eating a frog, dead or alive, chocolate or real." I said finally and we laughed a bit more as Alice recounted a story of one of her cousins, who was terrified of frogs in general.

After we were well fed, Lily decided to curl by the window with a book, while Alice and Mary played Exploding Snap, Mary laughing loudly every time Alice' hair were burnt off because they were longer. Alice had long dark brown hair while Mary supported a boyish haircut, her light brown locks cropped to her neck.

I settled by the window too, gazing outside at the beautiful scenery that was getting darker slowly, and greener too. After about two hours more, Lily decided to meet Remus for Prefects rounds, suggesting us to change into clothes as we were almost there.

Anxiety settled into the pit of my stomach, as I settled back down, wondering how my life at Hogwarts would turn out to be.

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><p><strong>I shall update this story every fortnight and a few chapters are already written. Thank you all for the follows and favorites, and please review!<strong>

**Reviews are much appreciated! **


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had treated me well over the past month. The castle was one beautiful specimen of architecture and mystery and magic and I had been loving every moment of interacting with it. It was as if I had access to a vast aorta of information, and the power that I could feel throbbing through the stone walls whenever I touched them with concentration - _actually_ tried to feel it - the castle's magic responded heartily. It was amazing!

My magic could easily determine how old the magic of the castle was, and believe me, it was old. I had connected to it in a very different and... unusual way. It was the reason why I hadn't got lost even once since the start of term. When asked nicely, the castle showed unimaginable ways to get to your destination and it had been a fantastic asset until I memorized the way to all classes properly. Also, the looks of my new friends were worth the effort when I managed to reach a place before them. I always grinned devilishly in their satisfyingly frustrated faces; it was driving the boys _nuts_.

Speaking of friends, in my short existence, I had not talked much to any person beside my family, my uncles and a few people of Asgard who didn't really count. Suddenly living with a group of girls after spending almost five years alone was a bit... disturbing, at first. Lily snored, Alice mumbled in her sleep sometimes and Mary - goodness, but I think that girl could sleep through an earthquake. Even if the walls around her crumbled and collapsed, she wouldn't even stir. It had taken me a week to adjust to that development alone.

At first I was unsettled by the general companionship of the lot itself. The girls were quite different personalities and I was sure that if they weren't in the same house and year, they wouldn't even know each other.

Lily Evans appeared to be an uptight, sophisticated, goody two shoes bitch at first sight, but I found her to be the kindest, smartest and most helpful of them all. She had been the one to make sure that I was never left out of conversations, or forgotten, when everyone was busy as a group that had existed together for a good part of four years.

It was an admirable effort, and I was grateful, don't get me wrong, but sometimes it was suffocating. I mean, it was obvious to me when they cracked a joke on one of Mary's habits that I didn't know existed, that I had to maintain a poker face while they laughed, and had to ask later what they were talking about. The way Lily would apologize profusely irritated me no end. But I had managed not to snap at her the few times this had happened. Thankfully, these occurrences were almost negligible now.

Mary MacDonald, on the other hand, was the opposite. She was outgoing and took everything in her stride. There was rarely any awkwardness around her and she seemed to be as adventurous and naughty as Lily was bound to act the perfect Prefect. She also tended to be a little mean sometimes, and tomboyish, which was also quite opposite to Lily's feminine habits. One thing that was same in both girls, and that I loved, was compassion. They were both very compassionate people, even though Mary tended to be a lot louder about it. Like telling Yaxley what a dick he was, in front of the whole Great Hall on Tuesday, after he had been tormenting a second-year.

The third girl in the dorm was Alice Prewett, and I liked the quiet, shy girl. It was as if she simply existed for me to have someone to share an eyeroll with when Lily and Mary were being... well, Lily and Mary. She was there to balance out the extroverted beings that were the other two girls. Alice mostly stayed out of the way, spoke when spoken to and often reminded me of an ant. Quiet, but hardworking and determined to reach her goals.

Another thing that I liked about her was that we didn't need to fill silences. They were comfortable, harmonious, enjoyable even. She would smile, say a soft, 'Hi', settle down in a corner, not making any noise and just _be there_. She was also the sort of person who everyone would come to in case of a problem, seeking advice, her calm voice assuring them that all would be okay - even if it all went towards hell. Which tended to happen mostly when the infamous James Potter came into the picture.

It was a well-established fact in my mind now, that as kind a person Lily was, she had absolutely no control over her temper. Or maybe it was just Potter, he knew exactly which buttons to press to have Lily spitting insults at him. None of _them_ listened to Alice.

The Gryffindor boys were also such a lot - a highly dangerous and explosive mixture of four idiots thrown together in such a way that they could cause the spontaneous combustion of the world at any moment. And I do not joke here. I swear!

McGonagall looked like it was Doomsday whenever those four found seats together in her class. Peter Pettigrew was maybe the least dangerous and least interesting of the lot. I think he was just confused about his life half the time. James Potter, I hadn't had the fortune (or misfortune) of knowing yet. Although, from all the meals we'd had together (because yes, as a show of totally undeserving unity, the group sat together at lunch, no matter how much Lily wanted to murder Potter), I had gathered that James Potter was a bit of an obnoxious guy - even a bit of a bully. And believe me, I did not do well with dealing with people with egos the size of the Black Lake. Living some time with Norse Gods, and being a niece of theirs, would do that to you. Or maybe spending time with Lily Evans did that too. So, Potter was somebody I preferred to stay rather away from.

Sirius Black, his best buddy, was a similar story. Rich family, good looks (even James, with his spectacles, was considered handsome in a dorky sort of way, while Black was the devil-may-care aloofly sexy kind), and brains that were worthy of excellent grades, were some qualities that were similar in the two Gryffindors. There was one thing that made Sirius Black more dangerous though, and that was his eyes. By Odin, those _eyes_... I was sure, that one day, I would blabber out all my secrets because of those eyes. They were _indescribable_. They weren't blue, or even grey exactly, it was like they had a colour of their own and their intensity changed constantly - his gaze was the definition of _smoldering_. They were a storm, his eyes; nothing was ever fixed in them, a swirling mass of emotions - a storm of thoughts so intense, that I had lost my train of thought the two times that I had made direct contact with them. And I didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing.

So yeah, Black was the more dangerous of the two, hence why I preferred to stay away from the guy.

The last boy left, was the reason why the world hadn't exploded yet. Really.

Remus Lupin was the person that I could call, for the fear of sounding like a loner, my best friend. Maybe it was because I had met him first of all, or maybe it was because he loved books, and literature and knowledge as much as I did or maybe it was because he loved chocolate more than I did. Or maybe it was all of the above.

Remus was kind, smart, intelligent, perceptive, funny and an all-round excellent person to hang around with. He was also the only one who could control James and Sirius to the extent of not wreaking havoc in the world and just limiting it to wreaking havoc in Hogwarts.

Really, I don't know what would remain of McGonagall if he didn't manage to talk James and Sirius out of most of their substantially hazardous plans. I had heard Remus muttering angrily about the Entrance Hall being turned into an anti-gravitational mist last week, but had avoided asking because of the look on his face. I hadn't seen any of their crazier superplans in action yet, or so everyone told me, and I was rather thankful. Only hearing about them gave me an unpleasant feeling of underachievement. Knowing the God of Mischief, I rather felt like I owed the populace something and the lack of action was rather getting on my nerves.

Remus and I had hit it off rather well ever since that first day. One of the reasons was also that I had actively sought only his company from the start, refusing to properly open up to Lily and the girls. The train ride had been good but I was hesitant to talk all the time, and kept rather quiet near the group. This was until Remus had authoritatively pointed out my reluctance of their company, being the observant bastard that he was, and demanded that I rectify it that very moment, thus leading me to a whole night of getting to know the girls. It was my fifth night in the castle.

This was one weird thing about Remus - he had this authoritative side to him, which, when he exercised, he was able to get everything he wanted done. Maybe it was leadership qualities or just the way he said things, in that calm way of his not Alice-calm way, the _do-whatever-the-fuck-I-say-or-else_ calm way. The _Remus-calm_ way.

I'm not making much sense I guess but what I mean is that Remus Lupin had the knack of making people listen to him and obey him, in a compulsive sort of way. Either Remus was a highly talented individual with supernatural powers or-

Or I just overanalysed things as usual.

Anyway, I could judge later if my best friend had supernatural powers or not; just then it was time to head to Transfiguration and vanish a few kittens. I was in this belated sort of mood, the one where thinking deeply about things seems like very much fun. Not to mention, the lack of coffee in this castle was did nothing to help mornings. I'd have to find out the kitchens somehow.

Anyway, I concentrated on finding a desk near the front of the class as the students filed in and took seats among the loud chatter and scraping of wood against stone. I settled into the seat beside Alice, just as Professor McGonagall walked in and the class fell silent.

The next ten minutes were spent listening intently to the strict witch as she explained how we were supposed to go about the tricky procedure.

"Now, you should work in pairs with one kitten and I request you to-"

"Professor, could I please change my seat?" A loud voice interrupted from the back of the class, and her nostrils flared furiously.

Sirius Black's voice sounded serious for once, and I detected no underlying hint of humour, though he did seem agitated, as I turned around to watch.

Peter was looking at Sirius in confusion and Remus looked worried for some reason, though he kept his expression neutral as he turned his gaze away from Sirius' head, who was standing in front of him. James, who had been sitting beside Sirius, had furrowed his brow and was glaring at the desk, head bent.

McGonagall seemed thrown by the turn of events, after all, the four boys were always looking for opportunities like this one to cause mischief. I might have thought of this as a prank too, if not for James' and Remus' expressions. The Professor seemed to realize this too and recovered quickly, still considering the boys a bit suspiciously.

"Of course, Mr. Black, if you must, you may as well exchange your place with... ah, Miss Prewett, if you wish?"

Wait... _what?_

No- Alice?

_Shit!_ I widened my eyes in panic, considering stopping Alice, but that would just be ridiculous, wouldn't it? Of course, it'd be. Hell, this is ridiculous. Why was I even panicking? It's just Sirius. Black. With those eyes. No. No panicking. Stop. Breathe.

I inhaled and exhaled slowly, managing to give Alice a smile, which was surely a grimace, as she picked up her stuff and exchanged seats with the tall Gryffindor boy. His movements were agitated as he moved across the length of the room, dumped his bag on the floor and set his books in front of him, adopting a rigid posture as the Professor told us to take one animal for each desk.

I waited for Sirius to say something; to ask, but he didn't do anything and just stared at the desk some more, so I took the initiative.

"Shall I?" my voice came out more gravelly than I had expected, but Sirius nodded his head once, not looking up. "Seriously, what is it with you and James and desks?" I blurted out before thinking, and gasped, cursing myself mentally.

Before he could look up fully, I scurried away quickly, mentally berating myself. Way to go and insult him, again. What had happened to my brain to mouth filter? It seemed to have collapsed momentarily. I took as much time as I possibly could to get the kitten from the front of the class, but I could only stall so much.

Setting the innocent creature on the desk in front of me, I reluctantly turned my body half towards him, indicating that I was about to initiate conversation, beginning by saying sorry. I had just opened my mouth, when-

"Do you hate me?"

I gaped at the dark-haired boy in front of me, who, by the way, was still glaring at the desk, or so I thought until - icy blue eyes met mine, with an unexpected intensity of emotion on his face.

Sirius Black looked _vulnerable_.

I snapped my mouth closed, realizing that I must resemble a goldfish currently, with slightly bugged out eyes and gaping mouth.

"N-No. Of course not. I didn't mean that last remark, I'm sorry." I managed, and he nodded again. My comment didn't seem to have affected him that much.

He still remained deep in thought, until he looked at me again- "You're new, right? You've known me for over a month now, what kind of person do you think I am?"

The question caught me unawares, my eyebrows rose upwards skeptically, and my immediate thought was what I had been thinking before class had started. But somehow, this matter seemed to be different. What was happening? As far as I knew, Sirius Black was not like this. He was the kind that didn't care what people in general thought about him, right?

Right?

And suddenly, I was worried. As I remembered Remus' expression, it struck me, had something happened? At his home, maybe, or a fight with James?

"What kind of question is that? Sirius, is everything okay?"

Before I knew it, my voice had turned concerned and I lightly touched his arm, pushing in an effort to turn him to face me. Even if I didn't know the guy that well, he was Remus' best friend and he was clearly hurt or upset by something that the other boys had done. Or hadn't, maybe... Damn, this was confusing!

"It's a question type of question, what else? And what do you mean, okay? Why wouldn't everything be just smashing?" he replied, voice full of disdain. He looked at my hand on his arm, and I blushed suddenly, removing it hastily. I saw him staring at my face, before I decided that looking down at the desk to gather my thoughts was a good idea. Now I get what it was with the desk.

"Well, what I mean," I said, "is that you're not this person, like you're behaving right now. I know for a fact that you're close to James and if you changed your seat, that means either you're fighting with him or you're hiding something and running away, which, by the way, is never the solution. So yeah, one of those things happened, so I meant to ask what was wrong. Plus, you wouldn't ask those kind of questions to a stranger like me- I've known you for only a month. Mary or Alice might be better options. Anyway, my simple words didn't manage to break through your skull though, obviously."

Yeah, a bit of sarcasm, always brightens things up.

I looked up towards the end of my tirade to see Sirius looking at me like a loon or something. His mouth was slightly agape and his brow was still furrowed, as though contemplating my words, though something had shifted in his eyes for sure. They seemed lighter.

"Mr. Black, Ms. Odinson, I believe you have not even started the work yet. Is this a deliberate-"

"Oh relax Professor," Sirius cut her off again, though the Professor's lips thinned in a more dangerous way, noticing his tone. "You know that I've vanished the cat and back again. No need to get your wand in a knot."

I was surprised to hear the cockiness back in his voice, suddenly, out of no where, and that underlying irritatingly amused tone he adopted just for McGonagall.

"And you, Ms. Odinson?" The Professor turned expectantly to me and I flicked my wand, muttering the spell, mimicking the exact wand movement and picturing how I wanted the cushion to look.

The kitten vanished completely, I could see a furry outline, but hopefully, the Proffessor could not. I smirked to myself, confident that she could not, and looked at the Professor challengingly.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for cheek, Black." she said, and stalked away.

"What a hypocrite." I muttered sourly. She hadn't even awarded me any points, and just knocked off Sirius' even if he didn't do anything. He hadn't even proved that he'd done the spell!

"Nah. She just loves me too much." Sirius grinned easily, and I felt something in my stomach shift slightly at the amused sparkle in his eyes. How had he even heard that?

"So you're going to tell me what's wrong?" I approached again, to get that sparkle away if nothing else.

His grin faltered a little but he continued smiling. "No," he said quietly, "Thank you, though, for that enlightening speech."

"Anytime, Black." I nodded, if a little confused, my mind still fuzzy with that smile.

At that moment, the bell rang and we packed our bags in silence, though I was burning to ask the question again. Sirius looked nervously at the three boys waiting for him with varying expressions of impatience and worry. He schooled his expression into one of indifference and walked determinedly towards his friends, not looking back once, as he strode out of the class.

I felt Alice, Lily and Mary stand beside me as the classroom emptied. The words were out of my mouth before I could think twice.

"What just happened?"

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><p><strong>Reviews would be highly appreciated, it'd be good to know what y'all think. Thank you very much <em>Bootylisha (I'm glad you like it)<em> and _chinaglaze_! Cookies to you both! 3**


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